Adelaide suburb’s chemical pollution – a warning to us all

Dennis Matthews 22 July 14 The problems being experienced at Clovelly Park are the product of a society that gave low priority to environmental health. Environment Ministers and Environmental Protection Authorities either didn’t exist or were given very low priority.

Like the residents of Clovelly Park, Environment Minister Ian Hunter is the victim of a past over which he had little control. The trichloroethylene (TCE) story should be a warning to this generation but there is no evidence that it is being heeded.

Scientists and technologists are busy developing new products with very little thought to their environmental health impact. Our water and soil resources are under constant attack. The environment portfolio is under-resourced and going backwards.

Our aim should now be to prevent a new generation of environmental health threats by giving higher status to the environment portfolio and by encouraging our scientists and technologists to give more attention to the environmental health consequences of their products.